Correction: A previous version of the story incorrectly stated the meeting would be streamed at Broadcast.iu.edu. The meeting is not available online.
The Indiana University Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on a consulting contract with former university president Michael McRobbie during its Friday meeting.
In October, IU Maurer School of Law professor Steve Sanders published an article in which he said university trustees asked McRobbie to remain on staff another six months after his retirement on June 30 if the presidential search was unsuccessful.
The trustees drew up an agreement in case that became necessary.
Read More: Law school prof questions presidential search process, payment to McRobbie
On May 6, Trustee Jim Morris signed a memo which said the agreement was prepared March 19 and called for McRobbie to be paid $582,000. The memo recommended that pay be honored because McRobbie put his plans on hold to be available if IU needed him.
A letter to McRobbie dated May 13, almost one month after trustees named Pamela Whitten as IU president, states the agreement would be honored with McRobbie serving consulting duties to the university through the end of the year.
Friday’s board of trustees meeting includes an action item titled “Approval of McRobbie Letter Agreement dated May 13, 2021.”
“Now, with the McRobbie payments having almost run their course, the trustees evidently have decided to do what the law required them to do seven months ago: put the matter to a vote in public,” Sanders said in a Dec. 2 article. “Presumably the matter will be voted on quickly and without discussion, because the discussion about it took place long ago in secret.”
The IU Board of Trustees meeting will take place in Kokomo at 10:15 a.m. Friday.
